SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Overdose deaths across the country have gone up this year from the year before to 107,000, according to recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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And a large contributing factor to this increase is the rising tide of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
One East Bay organization is hoping to prevent more tragedy by providing fentanyl test strips in local bars and clubs so people can test for the deadly drug and avoid consuming it.
"We are fentcheck.org," said Alison Heller, the co-founder of the Oakland-based non-profit. "Right now fentanyl is the number one cause of death, if you are under the age of 50 and American."
And this comes as fentanyl has been increasingly working its way into other drugs. A couple of months ago a few overdose deaths in San Francisco were linked to fentanyl showing up in other narcotics, as previously reported by KCBS Radio.
"We need to address people where they are and make sure people have the autonomy, ability and resources to keep themselves safe," she said.
Heller and a group of volunteers drop off stacks of the small simple looking litmus paper kits to about 200 bars around the bay area, hoping to save lives.
The strips work simply. People just need to put a bit of the product in a container with an ounce of water. Then dip the strip up to the blue line into the water for 15 seconds. Then the strip needs to be set on a horizontal surface for five minutes. Two lines on the strip mean the product is negative, one line means it's positive for fentanyl.
But the organization emphasizes on the website that there is room for error, and always have Narcan and a plan, just in case.
"We also distribute Narcan to our bars and to our venues," she said. "To have civilians take freely and we’ve seen that save lives."
Next, Heller hopes to start getting the test strips into more schools.
"We're really excited, we're now working with UC Berkeley," said Heller. "We're very excited to continue that into the fall semester."
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